Have you ever been at a crossroads and considered a career change? Are you still looking for the right path? The tech industry may have the answer, as it offers many exciting and life-changing careers.
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We live in a time when technology is bursting with innovation, new fields are opening, and old ones are modernizing rapidly. In accordance with that, you could explore and try out many interesting and thriving roles. Each and every one of us has a different career path and skill set with a wide space for growth. A tester role could be just what you were looking for.
People often stumble on this path by accident. Some switch from development. Some are simply looking for a change. Whatever the reason, you are in the right place. Being a tester is a very rewarding career. It challenges you to think outside the box, find new ways and solutions, and be extremely creative. But what does it take to become a tester?
What does it take?
A set of common skills in the testing industry are in demand, and they include curiosity, adaptation to constant change, analytical mind, eagerness to learn, and communication. Depending on which position you are aiming for, you may be asked to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or engineering. Even if you don’t have a college degree, getting a job in testing with direct, hands-on experience in the field is possible.
Besides the soft skills and formal degree, there are other skills that are good to have and you should develop. These skills include:
- Preparation and reviewing of test plans, cases, scripts, data, and test results to discover the level of effectiveness of test strategy and procedures
- Documentation, tracking, and reporting of test results, bugs, and other quality metrics
- Results, processes, and strategies analysis
- Using various bug-tracking systems and tools
- Learning and understanding of different methodologies, such as Lean or Agile, as well as various testing environments
- It is beneficial to know programming languages such as JavaScript, Java, or Python and use them to create an automation suite and optimize testing efforts where possible
- Getting certified as a tester and continuously developing other skills can increase testers’ credibility and visibility with potential employers. As technologies constantly change, it is important to follow trends, seek out new ways of working and learn new things.
- Client communication and support from a quality assurance tester during the testing phase could make things much easier for both sides. A client receives direct support from an experienced tester who knows the product by heart. If needed, a client is also supported while testing a single feature and/or the completely developed product.
Sense of pride
Quality assurance testers are usually part of the team dedicated to a specific project. They have an important role in website, application or software development. Quality assurance experts support testing in all stages of a product life cycle, such as planning, analysis, development and post-launch activities. Testers find and report bugs, performance issues as well as various visual discrepancies that can be determined by comparing results with technical documentation and specifications, wireframes and design. Following the test plan and strategy, they perform different kinds of testing using various techniques, including acceptance, functional, non-functional, and change-related testing. Some of the most used techniques include ad hoc and perspective-based for reviews, and black box, white box and experience-based for testing.
A final product must correspond to a certain level of usability and quality criteria established during the planning phase with all stakeholders. Every day, when a customer uses a program, software or app, they can see the quality of the work and the company’s investment in testing. Testing brings many benefits that can be recognized by combining all parts in the form of client and customer satisfaction, increased exposure and visibility, increased ROI, etc. It is a connected network of users and customers, vendors, and companies that benefit from a good quality product in different ways. Remember, buggy software or applications lead to customer disappointment, increased need for tech support, increased purchase cancellation or refund requests and possible bad reviews. Regardless of whether a company uses Scrum, Agile or any other framework that best suits a certain project, quality is king – today more than ever.
Quality assurance tester
Is it worth becoming a tester? The answer is – yes! Why? That feeling when the software, application or website you’ve worked on finally goes live, and you remember all the times you’ve found bugs, made it crash, drove developers crazy as they thought they were done, and managers waiting for the green light. You made a difference in creating the best possible product for the client, users, resellers and every other person who will ever come in contact with it. You have left a mark in the digital world!
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